Part 5
Spending New Year quietly like this was a first.
“Do you have any New Year wishes?”
Amidst the noise, this sentence was surprisingly clear.
Zhou Xie turned his head and found Wen Rong looking at him.
The faint light blurred his profile. His contours were soft, and his quiet gaze flowed with a firm, accepting attitude.
Very gentle.
“What about you?” Zhou Xie asked back.
“Is the personnel information entry for the Outer District complete?”
“Still missing a bit. There were too many undocumented residents before.”
“Then my wish is to finish the entry as soon as possible and see if there’s a chance to find my mom and dad.”
Zhou Xie was stunned. The fear of being abandoned rose sharply in his heart. He couldn’t help reaching out to grab Wen Rong. “You want to find your biological parents?”
“I’ve always wanted to find them, but conditions didn’t allow it. Once the Outer District personnel entry is complete, maybe I can find them.”
“Then can we still spend New Year together next year?”
“…”
Although Wen Rong was always terrifyingly blunt with him, it was hard to say now that Wen Rong had become an adult; silence was an adult’s rejection.
Zhou Xie controlled himself and withdrew his hand. “I was just asking.”
“Do you want to continue spending New Year together next year?”
Zhou Xie: “…”
“Sure.”
Zhou Xie’s leg twitched. “Really?”
Boom—
Fireworks exploded again in the distance. Shouts of “Kiss! Kiss!” came from downstairs. Zhou Xie’s heart raced from the noise, and his restrained emotions surged out.
Wen Rong looked stunned, yet very calm. “Why not?”
Boom boom boom boom.
The twelve o’clock fireworks were as long as the night. The lights on the top floor of the hotel were turned off, and the smart system turned on the central air conditioning, releasing warm air.
The colorful lights that flashed occasionally reflected two overlapping shadows.
Zhou Xie pressed Wen Rong into the sofa, forcefully peeling him open, kissing him urgently.
Wen Rong didn’t cry out in pain, but he didn’t accept it either. Zhou Xie pried for a long time before relying on the strength of pinching his chin to invade.
But soon, Wen Rong pushed back with the tip of his tongue.
Having reached this point, even retreating would yield no good result. His body, skilled at weighing benefits, reacted before his brain, clamping down on the struggling hands, pinning them overhead, licking approvingly.
His brain clamored, his body trembled, yet he was as careful as possible, going everywhere… accompanied by heavy panting, going to the hidden places.
Wen Rong pushed him, palm resisting against his forehead, knocking his glasses askew. Finally, he succumbed to the overly palpable sucking sensation.
With a forceful move, Wen Rong used his last bit of strength to pull Zhou Xie’s hair. Zhou Xie remained unmoved.
Until Wen Rong went rigid, his chest heaving high. One of his barely propped-up legs hung limply over the back of the sofa, while the other slid off the edge, the sole of his foot touching the warm floor.
Zhou Xie turned on the light and saw Wen Rong in a messy state, looking at him sideways with a slanted glance. Broken strands of hair sparsely hooked around the corners of his eyes, holding a glimmer of tears.
The flush spreading on his skin was as hot as his mood at this moment.
“Turn off the light,” Wen Rong said.
The sound of fireworks stopped. Zhou Xie used the remote control to close the curtains and forcefully spread Wen Rong out under the light.
Wen Rong was never a lamb in front of him. If he didn’t turn off the light, Wen Rong used his knee to press hard against him; the bony joint poked his chest until it was red.
Zhou Xie retaliated without showing weakness, his palm pressing on the fleshless lower abdomen, squeezing hard inside and out.
That handsome, beautiful face sank completely into desire. Occasionally there were moments of clarity where he looked at Zhou Xie in disbelief, anger unable to rise before he was knocked into shaking his head toward the floor, biting his lip tightly. Amidst muffled groans, his profile revealed a rarely seen humiliation.
Zhou Xie’s brain felt dizzy. Feeling an unprecedented pleasure, he lost control completely.
He thought wildly: Wen Rong belonged to him. After tonight, he could do anything for Wen Rong, even die.
Slap—
A crisp slap in the early morning announced the final result of this affair.
After that night, Wen Rong didn’t contact him for nearly a week.
Zhou Xie knew he was in the wrong and didn’t dare provoke Wen Rong. He only routinely recalled the feeling of touching, Wen Rong’s uncontrollable trembling, and… the more he recalled, the more he realized that Wen Rong that night—the stunned look and anger in his eyes—seemed to hide a smile.
Perhaps it was an illusion created by his excessive guilt.
The epiphany came on a clear-headed morning. He recalled the slap and suddenly thought, why didn’t he slap him at night?
Or rather, why didn’t he slap him right at the start?
Wen Rong never said “Get off” from the beginning. The only thing he said midway was “Turn off the light.” When he finally fell into a deep sleep, he wrapped his arms around Zhou Xie’s neck, his slightly hoarse voice breathing out, “Really want to bite you to death.”
Trembling, Zhou Xie found his phone and sent a message to Wen Rong: [The flowers in the Outer District have bloomed recently. Want to see them?]
He thought that if Wen Rong replied, it would verify his guess—that night was his overt impulse, but Wen Rong’s covert indulgence.
However, Wen Rong left him on read.
He kept the sound on his phone all day. The moment it rang, he couldn’t wait to pick it up and look. If it didn’t ring, he repeatedly clicked on Wen Rong’s avatar, to the point where subordinates in the same office grew bold enough to ask if he had a girlfriend.
By night, he finally received a message.
[Are room and board included?]
Zhou Xie laughed in anger.
It was the first time he had been so dense, dense enough to be manipulated by Wen Rong for so long before reacting.
Even thinking back to that night again, he clearly discovered that within the humiliated gaze, there were hooks that strangled reason.
Zhou Xie: [There aren’t any formal hotels in the Outer District yet. You can only stay with me.]
Wen Rong: [We’re both guys, what is there to be afraid of?]
No responsibility, no initiative, no rejection.
Wen Rong was playing him like a fool.
Zhou Xie pushed open the window, feeling the air of the Outer District which had become fresh. He thought, Wen Rong should like it.
Several springs and autumns passed. It was still this balcony, fireworks popping by the sea. Wen Rong and Zhou Xie spent New Year together, along with Shi Ye and Leon of course, but those weren’t important. What was important was that the relationship between them had changed somewhat. Wen Rong controlled him, and he pretended to be a fool.
The year Wen Rong graduated from Floriman Academy, Zhou Xie was promoted from the Outer District to the District 1 Government.
He thought Wen Rong would go to the Outer District and had arranged everything. Unexpectedly, having attended Wen Rong’s graduation ceremony the day before, he ran into Wen Rong next door to his government-allocated dormitory the very next day.
On weekends when the cafeteria wasn’t open, Wen Rong would come over to mooch meals. When not busy, the two would agree to go fishing together. If there were newly opened shops nearby, they would go together.
Occasionally, on a few nights, amidst the confrontation laced with desire, he felt that vague and indescribable love.
He wishfully thought that even if Wen Rong didn’t want to take responsibility, during these lonely years, this ambiguous relationship made life not too lonely. So, he and Wen Rong were a couple.
But it wasn’t completely blissful and perfect.
For example, Shi Ye and Leon would occasionally visit.
For example, Wen Rong was promoted very quickly, and “fathers-in-law” across the Federation were eager to arrange marriages for Wen Rong.
For young people without power or influence walking the path of officialdom, marrying into a family was a fixed process they usually had to go through.
After Wen Rong was tricked into going on a blind date for the umpteenth time, Zhou Xie suffered a bout of insecurity. While eating, he beat around the bush: “Did you take a fancy to anyone? If you want to rise higher in the future, you’ll have to rely on a father-in-law.”
Wen Rong rolled his eyes.
Probably having encountered too many weirdos at work, he was already very good at expressing annoyance. Occasionally, he would complain about work while fishing.
“Hm?” Zhou Xie cautiously reminded him to answer.
“Why do I need to rely on connections to get promoted? Besides, clearly I am the backer. A father-in-law doesn’t have the network of all Floriman Academy students from the last seven years, can’t order Shi Ye and you around, and can’t get Senior Leon’s research results.”
Zhou Xie automatically ignored the names that appeared alongside his own. “Why should I listen to your orders?”
“Then get out.”
Zhou Xie actually walked out.
He fantasized that Wen Rong would suddenly call him back.
But Wen Rong didn’t.
The moment he closed the door, he looked at Wen Rong’s dormitory door, then looked back at his own dormitory door, turned his head, and laughed.
Zhou Xie opened the door again. “Why are you so self-righteous telling me to get out when you are in my house?”
“Because you are becoming more and more obedient.” Wen Rong walked to the water dispenser with his back to him. The first red cup on the rack was one Wen Rong had bought in passing during an inspection trip last month.
Just like that, it naturally appeared in his home.
So they must be a couple.
Zhou Xie walked behind Wen Rong. Wen Rong filled the water and turned around, seemingly knowing his movements like the back of his hand. His waist deliberately pressed close to the counter, not bumping into him.
The cup rested between his and Wen Rong’s chests. The water rippled, reflecting two silent faces.
After a long time, Zhou Xie’s throat made a dry sound: “Am I still ranked last?”
“Depends on who you’re comparing with.”
“With…” He paused, deciding not to ask for trouble. “With those fathers-in-law.”
“Then you aren’t last.”
“What about compared to your blind dates?”
“Then still last. The girls I went on blind dates with were all very pretty.”
“Compared to…”
Zhou Xie still couldn’t say it. Wen Rong didn’t make a sound, lowering his head to take a sip of water.
He stuck out the tip of his tongue, licking across the curved rim of the cup. It seemed like an action meant to alleviate awkwardness.
But Wen Rong raised his eyelids, suddenly locking eyes with him.
A smile floated onto his face.
The glint in his eyes was just like many years ago, when he forced Wen Rong to wear women’s clothing but got played instead—Wen Rong revealed a tiny bit of smugness to him.
A posture belonging solely to the victor.
Open seduction, far more gripping than the hidden hooks of the past. Zhou Xie felt hot all over. He couldn’t help holding Wen Rong’s waist and forcing him to sit on the table.
He leaned into Wen Rong’s chest. Being pushed by Wen Rong’s shoulder, he instinctively hugged tighter. “Why are you pushing me?”
Wen Rong smiled and said, “Don’t you like it like this?”
People will always obsess over what they cannot obtain. He liked to control everything, so he was obsessed with things that escaped his control.
The more Wen Rong rejected him, the more he couldn’t leave Wen Rong.
Zhou Xie admitted it: “Yeah, I like it.”
Note: Releasing Zhou Xie’s extra first, as it’s more closely related to the Outer District career arc. [Dog holding a rose]
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